home

Another Judgment Day for Amanda Knox

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Wed Mar 25, 2015 at 12:16:50 PM EST
Tags: Amanda Knox (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

The Supreme Court in Italy will rule Friday on yet another appeal in the Amanda Knox case.

If she loses, will she be extradited? Will Italy even file the request? I don't think given the unique and twisted history of the case, disputed facts and the different and lesser protections afforded defendants by the Italian legal system, which allows prosecutors to appeal not guilty verdicts and according to some news reports, considers jeopardy not to attach until final judgment is rendered after appeal, the U.S. would grant an extradition request. Nor do I think a diplomatic showdown will result if it refuses. This case needs to be put to rest.

< Utah Reinstates Death by Firing Squad | Wednesday Open Thread >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Another Judgment Day for Amanda Knox | 36 comments (36 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    This just in -- (5.00 / 2) (#37)
    by Uncle Chip on Fri Mar 27, 2015 at 04:57:40 PM EST
    Amanda Knox murder conviction overturned by Italy high court

    ROME (AP) -- Italy's highest court has overturned the murder conviction against Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend, bringing to a definitive end the high-profile case.

    The decision by the supreme Court of Cassation is the final ruling in the case, ending the long legal battle waged by Knox and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito. Both Knox, who was awaiting the verdict in her hometown of Seattle, and Sollecito have long maintained their innocence.

    The supreme Court of Cassation overturned last year's convictions by a Florence appeals court, and declined to order another trial. The decision means the judges, after thoroughly examining the case, concluded that a conviction could not be supported by the evidence. Their reasoning will be released within 90 days.

    I hope she wins (none / 0) (#1)
    by McBain on Wed Mar 25, 2015 at 12:30:00 PM EST
    If she loses, I don't think there's any chance we would send her back to Italy. She's already served time for a crime she, most likely, didn't commit. Italy looks ridiculous on this one.

    The real question is what will happen to her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito?  I don't believe he had anything to do with Meredith Kercher's murder either but he won't be protected by our country like Knox.  

    Knox Will be Fine... (none / 0) (#2)
    by ScottW714 on Wed Mar 25, 2015 at 01:09:34 PM EST
    ...right up until we need something form Italy, then she will be pawn number one.  She can only be truly free if the appeal goes her way.

    Sollecito is Italian and had his passport revoked long ago.

    From everything I have read, I can't imagine either one being found guilty of anything.  In this last appeal Sollecito tried to distance himself from Knox.  So there is a possibility one is found guilty.

    Parent

    I think they need to convict someone (none / 0) (#3)
    by McBain on Wed Mar 25, 2015 at 03:38:49 PM EST
    in order to save face. Although I read a couple books on it, I've forgotten some of the facts of this case.  I do remember the lead prosecutor seemed crazy and obsessed with satanic orgy killings.

    Parent
    From What I Understand... (none / 0) (#4)
    by ScottW714 on Wed Mar 25, 2015 at 04:00:54 PM EST
    ...Italians in general think she did it and want her convicted.

    It's not like someone isn't in prison for the murder:

    (Rudy) Guede was tried separately at a fast-track trial; in October 2008 he was found guilty of having sexually assaulted and murdered Kercher. He obtained a reduction in his sentence and is currently eligible for day release from prison.
    LINK

    I see the verdict is delayed until Friday.
    LINK

    Parent

    Except (none / 0) (#9)
    by jbindc on Thu Mar 26, 2015 at 07:33:41 AM EST
    The US signed an extradition treaty with Italy.  We've broken it before, and could again, but there's the little problem of the next time - the next time we want someone extradited from Italy, or anywhere else (like the UK, for example, who has a vested interest in this case, since it was a British citizen who was murdered and a British family that is demanding justice).

    Parent
    They have (none / 0) (#5)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Mar 25, 2015 at 05:13:04 PM EST
    the killer of this girl -- he's already in prison and yet they are on the verge of letting him out.

    This is a country where Mafia bosses roam the streets and yet they want to throw this girl in prison on trumped up evidence.

    I'm boycotting everything "Italian" until the Italian Justice System clears her.

    No Italian imports. No Italian wine. No Italian cooking programs. No Sophia Loren movies. No reruns of The Godfather. And No cannolis.

    Don't punish yourself too severely (5.00 / 6) (#6)
    by Peter G on Wed Mar 25, 2015 at 09:03:31 PM EST
    Make an exception for cannolis.

    Parent
    You're right (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by Uncle Chip on Wed Mar 25, 2015 at 10:38:01 PM EST
    I'll leave the Beretta but take the cannolis.

    Parent
    Yeah... (5.00 / 4) (#11)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Mar 26, 2015 at 09:10:07 AM EST
    ...I'll skip the Ferrari this year and refuse to wear my Bruno Magli's.

    Parent
    Good to see Jeralyn and others (none / 0) (#8)
    by Green26 on Thu Mar 26, 2015 at 12:47:20 AM EST
    say they don't believe Knox should or would be extradited. My views, as a non-criminal lawyer, are similar. Italian courts seem to have had enough shots at her. The jeopardy thing bugs me, even though I know Italy doesn't have the same concept. Not asking for extradition is an interesting idea. I'm assuming the high court will decide to convict her, or whatever they are deciding, but maybe they won't. If Italy goes after her again, I really think that would impact my view of Italy.

    Ana interesting perspectivr (none / 0) (#10)
    by jbindc on Thu Mar 26, 2015 at 07:58:37 AM EST
    on how we really don't know what happened because of the media circus that has plagued these trials.

    The American TV networks, especially, were generous to the Knox family, paying for airline tickets and meals when trials were in session. On the night of one of the verdicts, a high-powered American producer even babysat Knox's little sisters in exchange for God only knows what. And because Kercher's family rarely came to trial - after all, no media outlets were paying their airfare - the victim slipped off the front page.

    We, the Italian-speaking media covering the case from Perugia, were unable to be seen to be covering the case objectively, and instead we were grouped into camps that became like extreme political parties: "innocentisti", who thought Knox was being railroaded, or "colpevolisti" who thought she wasn't. I received hate mail from strangers accusing me of not sticking up for the American girl, some wishing me "a fate like Meredith's". I even got a nasty note from Knox's stepfather telling me I seemed like someone "who was abused as a child".

    Things were drastically different in the beginning, before the first verdict. I remember drinking at a back table of the Joyce Pub in Perugia with Knox's mother, who, distraught and desperate, sobbed as she held my hand and pleaded with me to believe her daughter. She knew all the journalists by name but said she never read anyone's stories unless they were pro-Amanda. That was back when even she could be seen talking to the colpevolisti.

    All of that changed when more big name media types got involved, and when the idea of an American "innocent abroad" made good morning TV. The story lost its way completely when Knox's PR firm started trading family interviews for positive coverage. If you quoted both sides or mentioned damning court evidence, you could bet you'd hear that they didn't like the reporting. Soon people who needed the Knox family on TV only quoted their side of the story, and the truth disappeared for good.